Saina Nehwal is back to winning ways

Zee Media Bureau/Chaitan Papnai

New Delhi: Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal beat Spain’s Carolina Marin on Sunday in the final to win the USD 750,000 Star Australian Super Series. Now Nehwal has become the first non-Chinese shuttler to win a women`s singles Super Series title in 2014. Saina beat the Spanish opponent in straight sets 21-18, 21-11 within 43-minutes to win her second title of the season after winning the India Open Grand Prix Gold earlier this year. Indian Olympic bronze medallist dominated the proceedings from the beginning and used her smashes and net play with good effect during the match to win the summit clash. The sixth seeded Indian, reached the final of the tournament after beating the world number two Chinese player, Shixian Wang, in the semi-finals in a three set thriller 21-19, 16-21, 21-15. Saina looked so excited after beating the Chinese that she even tweeted after the match: “Beat world number 2 Wang Shixian in a tough 3 game match.” Last year was probably Saina’s worst season after breaking into the top ten. But the way she performed against one of the top Chinese players in the semis proved that she is now fully fit and is eyeing to win some big titles now. This win will certainly give the top ranked Indian shuttler the much needed confidence for the forthcoming international tournaments line-up for the year, especially the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.